I wasn't very old, perhaps 5 or 6 years, when I learned how to peel potatoes and help out with meal preparation. I also enjoyed baking, particularly cakes and cookies. Mom valued help in the kitchen as she spent one to two hours dairying in the morning and the evening. Mom made fresh buns and cinnamon buns every Saturday morning, a real treat for all. I still shape buns the way that I learned from Mom. It was my Mom's wish that I become a Home Ec teacher because I so enjoyed helping out in the kitchen. (My love of math won out, and I became a math teacher!!) We moved into our new home, a split level, in 1961. There were three levels to clean weekly - bedroom, kitchen and living, rumpus room. Mom organized herself, Alice and me to take turns cleaning those three levels. Mom sewed many beautiful dresses for us over the years. She would say, "If you make supper, I will start sewing .........for you."
I remember occasionally helping Mom with outside chores like mowing the lawn or weeding the raspberry patch. I believe Alice would say that she was the main outdoor help as she preferred working out-of-doors to working in the kitchen. Mom always had a beautiful garden, like her mother before her. I am glad that we learned to eat a wide variety of vegetables from an early age. We weren't very old when Mom would pack us all up in the car and go berry picking. I remember her picking raspberries in the Hills west of Kingman where she grew up. I also remember helping pick saskatoons and chokecherries closer to home. It was fun picking saskatoons because you could eat while you picked. The same could not be said for picking chokecherries.
What chores did we help Dad with? Probably the least loved chore was picking rocks. Dad would hook up the stoneboat to the tractor and drive along while we (children) ran behind throwing stones on to the stoneboat. Picking roots was not much better but we were enticed by the promise of a bonfire with a weiner roast at the end of the day. Alice remembers being paid 25 cents for the task. I remember occasionally cleaning grain for Dad, and I helped him shingle the new milk room.
We also helped Dad with loose hay, and later on bales. I remember once when Dad was taking a load of hay to Auntie Helga's. Orville and I were sitting on top of the stack. When Dad turned the corner into Auntie Helga's lane, Orville and I slid off the rack along with a big pile of hay. At our home we had the traditional style barn with hayloft. A large rope with pulley and sling attached ran along the center roof beam. When Dad had a full hayrack he would pull up in front of the barn. The huge door in the front of the loft would be opened, and the sling dropped to the rack and wrapped around the hay. Then the hay was pulled up into the barn. When the barn was full of hay we would so enjoy swinging off the pulley rope and sliding down the haystack!!
In later years we switched from loose hay to square bales. We would help Dad load up the bales out in the field and unload them either in the barn or outside. Dad set up an elevator from the truck to the smaller loft door. He would put the bales on the elevator and we would catch them up in the loft, stacking as we went. Dad had a very particular way of building a stack, whether in the truck or free standing. I must say his stacks were very sturdy. Much of our childhood fun centered around bales. We frequently built tunnels and houses in the bales in the loft. When Dad would go to the loft for hay he was not impressed when he would fall through a hole into one of our tunnels!!
My parents were certainly effective at teaching us how and getting us involved in helping with chores!! My efforts with my children were more ad hoc.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Saturday, November 22, 2008
The Dairy Farm
I was fortunate to spend four months with Mom (January - April, 2007) before she passed in May 2007. We enjoyed sharing many common memories, but Mom also told me stories I had never heard before. It was a special time.
Mom told me that the year they were married (1948)growing conditions were poor and thus grain yields were poor. The following year they had excellent crops but the markets were poor. As many farmers know, this is a common story. Mom desired to have a more steady income for her family, and hence the decision to dairy was made. Mom's parents (Esther and Gustav Hanson) had a small dairy. They gave Mom and Dad a heifer as a wedding gift. Dad had a Ford truck that he wasn't very fond of that he traded with Oscar Broen for six heifers. Thus began the dairy on the Bjorgum farm. In those early years we had a separator to separate the cream from the milk. North of the barn was a well where the cream cans were stored to keep cool until the weekly trip to Tofield to deliver cream. Milk was fed to the calves and hogs, as well as used for family consumption. Later the switch was made from selling cream to selling milk. The milk from the milking machines was emptied into a strainer sitting on top of milk cans which were taller than the cream cans. The cans of milk were stored in a tank of cold water in the milk room. A milk truck came once a week to pick up the cans of milk and deliver them to the local creamery in Camrose, the Northern Alberta Dairy Pool (NADP). A few years later the switch was made to a bulk tank. Milk from the milking machines was emptied into a step saver located in the barn. The step saver was connected to the bulk tank by hoses. The truck that picked up the milk weekly was a tanker that was connected to the bulk tank. The milk from our tank was tested before being added to the milk in the tanker. When Mom picked up the milk cheque from the creamery she would buy ten pounds of butter at a time, wrapped in brown paper. (We did a lot of home baking in those days.) She would also buy cheese from the creamery.
Most of the milking was done by Mom. Later on, Keith was a major help. Later still, Laurel helped out. She was not very old when she was able to do all the milking by herself!! Alice remembers stripping the cows by hand after the milking machines were taken off. She also remembers a favorite cow Holly which she liked to pet. Rueben, in fact, bought Alice a beautiful painting of a young girl with a dairy cow, paying tribute to Alice's memory of Holly. Occasionally I helped Mom empty the milking machines as they were so heavy. I also helped wash up the milking machines after the milking was done. It was more usual for me to help indoors with meal preparation, etc. Dad ground grain into chaffe and fed the cows and hogs. I also rememember helping Dad clean manure from the barn. In those early days it was done by hand and hauled out by wheelbarrow.
The cows loved our Mom. When she bent down to wash their udders prior to milking, her shirt would rise giving them the opportunity to lick her bare back with their rough tongues. Before we started school Mom's cousin Ethel Winder looked after us in the house while Mom was milking cows. I have fond memories of Ethel playing the guitar and singing to us. I also have never liked geraniums. During one of those times that Ethel stayed with us I pulled all the flowers off Mom's geranium plants. I can still smell that horrible smell of broken geranium stems!! Once we were school age Mom would get up about 5 in the morning, put on the porridge pot, and go out to milk. She would come back to the house later to make sure we were ready for school, and that we left for the bus on time. I was about six years of age when the transition was made from stockings and garter belt to pantyhose. I had a dickens of a time getting those pantyhose on straight and could not have survived without Mom's help!!
Milking cows was a daily commitment of several hours. In addition to milking, Mom kept a fine household. We always had great homecooked meals and baking, as well as beautiful homemade clothing. Mom always had a big garden and preserved fruit, veges and chicken. She crocheted, knitted, and quilted, and participated in community events and organizations. How she managed it all, I'll never know. She seldom sat down. She was my heroine!! (I never wanted to marry a farmer, though, because I never wanted to work as hard as my Mom had.)
Note: These musings will be posted in a random rather than a chronological order.
Mom told me that the year they were married (1948)growing conditions were poor and thus grain yields were poor. The following year they had excellent crops but the markets were poor. As many farmers know, this is a common story. Mom desired to have a more steady income for her family, and hence the decision to dairy was made. Mom's parents (Esther and Gustav Hanson) had a small dairy. They gave Mom and Dad a heifer as a wedding gift. Dad had a Ford truck that he wasn't very fond of that he traded with Oscar Broen for six heifers. Thus began the dairy on the Bjorgum farm. In those early years we had a separator to separate the cream from the milk. North of the barn was a well where the cream cans were stored to keep cool until the weekly trip to Tofield to deliver cream. Milk was fed to the calves and hogs, as well as used for family consumption. Later the switch was made from selling cream to selling milk. The milk from the milking machines was emptied into a strainer sitting on top of milk cans which were taller than the cream cans. The cans of milk were stored in a tank of cold water in the milk room. A milk truck came once a week to pick up the cans of milk and deliver them to the local creamery in Camrose, the Northern Alberta Dairy Pool (NADP). A few years later the switch was made to a bulk tank. Milk from the milking machines was emptied into a step saver located in the barn. The step saver was connected to the bulk tank by hoses. The truck that picked up the milk weekly was a tanker that was connected to the bulk tank. The milk from our tank was tested before being added to the milk in the tanker. When Mom picked up the milk cheque from the creamery she would buy ten pounds of butter at a time, wrapped in brown paper. (We did a lot of home baking in those days.) She would also buy cheese from the creamery.
Most of the milking was done by Mom. Later on, Keith was a major help. Later still, Laurel helped out. She was not very old when she was able to do all the milking by herself!! Alice remembers stripping the cows by hand after the milking machines were taken off. She also remembers a favorite cow Holly which she liked to pet. Rueben, in fact, bought Alice a beautiful painting of a young girl with a dairy cow, paying tribute to Alice's memory of Holly. Occasionally I helped Mom empty the milking machines as they were so heavy. I also helped wash up the milking machines after the milking was done. It was more usual for me to help indoors with meal preparation, etc. Dad ground grain into chaffe and fed the cows and hogs. I also rememember helping Dad clean manure from the barn. In those early days it was done by hand and hauled out by wheelbarrow.
The cows loved our Mom. When she bent down to wash their udders prior to milking, her shirt would rise giving them the opportunity to lick her bare back with their rough tongues. Before we started school Mom's cousin Ethel Winder looked after us in the house while Mom was milking cows. I have fond memories of Ethel playing the guitar and singing to us. I also have never liked geraniums. During one of those times that Ethel stayed with us I pulled all the flowers off Mom's geranium plants. I can still smell that horrible smell of broken geranium stems!! Once we were school age Mom would get up about 5 in the morning, put on the porridge pot, and go out to milk. She would come back to the house later to make sure we were ready for school, and that we left for the bus on time. I was about six years of age when the transition was made from stockings and garter belt to pantyhose. I had a dickens of a time getting those pantyhose on straight and could not have survived without Mom's help!!
Milking cows was a daily commitment of several hours. In addition to milking, Mom kept a fine household. We always had great homecooked meals and baking, as well as beautiful homemade clothing. Mom always had a big garden and preserved fruit, veges and chicken. She crocheted, knitted, and quilted, and participated in community events and organizations. How she managed it all, I'll never know. She seldom sat down. She was my heroine!! (I never wanted to marry a farmer, though, because I never wanted to work as hard as my Mom had.)
Note: These musings will be posted in a random rather than a chronological order.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Willie's Girl
As a child I was frequently given the nickname "Willie" since I looked a lot like my Dad and probably had similar mannerisms and behaviours. Willie married Irene in 1948. I am the eldest of five children that resulted from that union. Several years ago our family was contacted by Joan Mahaffy who told us that she was a daughter of our Dad from a relationship he had previous to his involvement with our Mom. This was certainly a surprise to us all!! Not long after we met with Joan at our brother Keith's home. Unfortunately, Joan did not meet Dad and Dad did not meet Joan as he had passed prior to this meeting. Until she passed in May 2007, Mom had regular contact with Joan. Some of my siblings also communicated from time to time. I liked the thought but didn't think I could manage one more “to do.” Recently my brother Glenn emailed me a copy of Joan's book Tiger Tales. I read it cover to cover and felt compelled to contact Joan. I wanted to share memories of my Dad and of my childhood. I have chosen the name Willie's Girl since I, the author, am one of his daughters and since I would like to dedicate this site to Joan Mahaffy, the daughter whom Willie never knew.
Childhood Toys
As children we did not have many toys. Alice had a bride doll. I had a doll named Peggy Sue. Alice remembers fondly a toy washing machine which she used to wash her doll clothes. I remember going on a treasure hunt for a set of building blocks (pre-Lego days) for one of my birthdays. I also was fond of a stamping set (letters of alphabet) which I believe I ordered from a cereal box. We had few books. Favorites of mine were a Little Golden book of Aesop's Fables and a Child's Book of Prayers. (I still have these.) We always had skates and bicycles. One year Aunty Dorphy (Dad's sister) and Uncle George came to visit us at Easter and brought a couple of their friends with them. Alice and I each received a stuffed toy from these friends. I believe they were homemade donkeys. Did they remember Keith?
Dad was quite a skilled carpenter. He built us a rectangular child's table with arborite top along with, as I recall, four wooden chairs. He also built a little cupboard with arborite top. It had a drawer where we kept our doll clothes. ( We had many lovely doll clothes sewn by our Mom who was a seamstress par excellence. ) Beneath the drawer were cupboard doors. Inside was one shelf. This is where we kept our little dishes. Was it a porcelain tea set? We had a beautiful doll cradle painted red from our dear family friend, Madelon Bronnum. In later years Dad built a wooden rocking horse, painting it red, for Laurel. I believe he built a few rocking horses for other children also. He also built wooden boxes with sliding lids which he filled with wooden blocks and gave to young children.
Dad loved puzzles, and had several. He made many copies of a particular one that the family enjoyed. It probably took me a couple of hours or more to figure out how to do this particular puzzle. Once we (Alice, Keith, and I) knew how the puzzle worked we would race each other to see who could finish first. I have a 3D plastic clown puzzle that used to belong to Dad. Dad enjoyed practical jokes and loved to tell jokes. I was always amazed at his memory for jokes!! He enjoyed playing cards also and had an amazing memory for which cards had been played. Perhaps Laurel is most like him in this regard. She enjoys her regular bridge parties. Alice has a phenomenal memory but doesn't regularly play cards. Few could beat Dad at a game of checkers. One was Dad's first cousin Lloyd's wife Mildred. Dad also had strong skills in chess. I think Keith used to enjoy playing chess. His family certainly enjoys board games!!
Dad had a special way with very young children, and had some real fans. He would like to ask, in Norwegian, “Are you my girl?” and teach whoever was sitting on his knee to reply also in Norwegian, “Yes, yes, I am your girl.” Dad's first cousin Leroy's eldest daughter Lyndel had a special spot in her heart for Dad. Mom was the one who drove us to our various activities. She also was the one who understood us better as we became teenagers.
When I was a child Dad frequently played the harmonica. This perhaps is why I enjoy harmonica to this day. I have one of Dad's harmonicas that he gave me as a child and another couple that I requested to have after his passing. Many will remember Dad for a hand slapping game which involved the following recitation:
Go to bed Jack,
Go to bed Jack,
Take of your britches
And go to bed Jack.
Dad passed in August 1993. At the next Hanson Family Reunion, which was at Aunt Bea and Uncle Norm's hazelnut farm, we played many games of "Doughnut," one of Dad's favorite card games. This is a game where you alternate trump between hearts, diamonds, spades, and clubs (not sure of order). In the first round everyone bids one trick, in the second round two and so on up to thirteen. Then the number of bids decreases to twelve, eleven, etc. until one is reached again. Bids are indicated by knocking on the table three times. On the third knock each player sticks out a number of fingers equivalent to the number of tricks he or she has bid. There is much hilarity in the game as, for example, when there is only one trick to be had but several bids. The name tags for that reunion were ribbons topped by a small doughnut created from a modelling material and painted. Was it Aunty Janet who made those? I don't remember. I had the feeling that Dad had many good chuckles that weekend!!
Dad was quite a skilled carpenter. He built us a rectangular child's table with arborite top along with, as I recall, four wooden chairs. He also built a little cupboard with arborite top. It had a drawer where we kept our doll clothes. ( We had many lovely doll clothes sewn by our Mom who was a seamstress par excellence. ) Beneath the drawer were cupboard doors. Inside was one shelf. This is where we kept our little dishes. Was it a porcelain tea set? We had a beautiful doll cradle painted red from our dear family friend, Madelon Bronnum. In later years Dad built a wooden rocking horse, painting it red, for Laurel. I believe he built a few rocking horses for other children also. He also built wooden boxes with sliding lids which he filled with wooden blocks and gave to young children.
Dad loved puzzles, and had several. He made many copies of a particular one that the family enjoyed. It probably took me a couple of hours or more to figure out how to do this particular puzzle. Once we (Alice, Keith, and I) knew how the puzzle worked we would race each other to see who could finish first. I have a 3D plastic clown puzzle that used to belong to Dad. Dad enjoyed practical jokes and loved to tell jokes. I was always amazed at his memory for jokes!! He enjoyed playing cards also and had an amazing memory for which cards had been played. Perhaps Laurel is most like him in this regard. She enjoys her regular bridge parties. Alice has a phenomenal memory but doesn't regularly play cards. Few could beat Dad at a game of checkers. One was Dad's first cousin Lloyd's wife Mildred. Dad also had strong skills in chess. I think Keith used to enjoy playing chess. His family certainly enjoys board games!!
Dad had a special way with very young children, and had some real fans. He would like to ask, in Norwegian, “Are you my girl?” and teach whoever was sitting on his knee to reply also in Norwegian, “Yes, yes, I am your girl.” Dad's first cousin Leroy's eldest daughter Lyndel had a special spot in her heart for Dad. Mom was the one who drove us to our various activities. She also was the one who understood us better as we became teenagers.
When I was a child Dad frequently played the harmonica. This perhaps is why I enjoy harmonica to this day. I have one of Dad's harmonicas that he gave me as a child and another couple that I requested to have after his passing. Many will remember Dad for a hand slapping game which involved the following recitation:
Go to bed Jack,
Go to bed Jack,
Take of your britches
And go to bed Jack.
Dad passed in August 1993. At the next Hanson Family Reunion, which was at Aunt Bea and Uncle Norm's hazelnut farm, we played many games of "Doughnut," one of Dad's favorite card games. This is a game where you alternate trump between hearts, diamonds, spades, and clubs (not sure of order). In the first round everyone bids one trick, in the second round two and so on up to thirteen. Then the number of bids decreases to twelve, eleven, etc. until one is reached again. Bids are indicated by knocking on the table three times. On the third knock each player sticks out a number of fingers equivalent to the number of tricks he or she has bid. There is much hilarity in the game as, for example, when there is only one trick to be had but several bids. The name tags for that reunion were ribbons topped by a small doughnut created from a modelling material and painted. Was it Aunty Janet who made those? I don't remember. I had the feeling that Dad had many good chuckles that weekend!!
Early Snapshot
One of my earliest snapshots is of Dad playing outdoors in the snow with Alice and me. I don't know if I actually remember these times or if it is the photo that tells me it happened. In any case, I do remember Dad spending a lot of time outdoors with us. In particular, I remember Dad showing us how to throw and catch a ball, as well as how to bat a ball. When I was in Grade 3 Dad bought me my first ball glove, a huge Black Diamond mitt. That year I was the only girl on our school ball team, and I played what was to be my favorite position for many years – short stop.
During my years at home the Kingman Recreation Association put on a skating party every Friday night during the winter months. The rink was an outdoor one. Beside the rink was a shed with a wood-burning stove where we put on our skates. One corner of the shed was a concession which different community members took turns operating. Doughnuts, hot dogs, hot chocolate, and coffee were available at the concession. On the roof of the shed was a loudspeaker through which music was piped for our skating pleasure. This was a family community event. Dad was an excellent skater, and I'm sure all his children had their turn skating with him, arms crossed. As we entered teendom, the big question was “Who will ask me to skate tonight?” Until I was 12 or 13 I had secondhand boys' skates. Then I got my first pair of new skates, a pair of figure skates. A young man whom I had wanted to skate with forever finally asked me to skate . We went around the ice successfully a few times. However, when it came time to stop I caught my pick in the ice and fell down, pulling this young man down on top of me. This was humiliating for both of us and was the first and last time we ever skated together!!
During my years at home the Kingman Recreation Association put on a skating party every Friday night during the winter months. The rink was an outdoor one. Beside the rink was a shed with a wood-burning stove where we put on our skates. One corner of the shed was a concession which different community members took turns operating. Doughnuts, hot dogs, hot chocolate, and coffee were available at the concession. On the roof of the shed was a loudspeaker through which music was piped for our skating pleasure. This was a family community event. Dad was an excellent skater, and I'm sure all his children had their turn skating with him, arms crossed. As we entered teendom, the big question was “Who will ask me to skate tonight?” Until I was 12 or 13 I had secondhand boys' skates. Then I got my first pair of new skates, a pair of figure skates. A young man whom I had wanted to skate with forever finally asked me to skate . We went around the ice successfully a few times. However, when it came time to stop I caught my pick in the ice and fell down, pulling this young man down on top of me. This was humiliating for both of us and was the first and last time we ever skated together!!
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